Electrically-operated vibrator.



J. L. DINSMOOR.

ELECTHICALLY OPERATED VIBRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1912.

1,098,893; Patented June 2,1914.

W1 T/VESSES [NVEAIITOR @7670111 Dimnwar UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L DINSMOOR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICALLY- OPERATED VIBRATOR.

T 0 all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. Dmsuoon, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings,and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulElectrically-Operated Vibrator; of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is an electrically operated vibrator adapted for avariety of useful purposes such as for bell and signal purposes,riveters and other instruments or devices to which it is desirable toimpart a rapid reciprocating motion.

The objects of the invention are, first, to impart a rapid reciprocationto a plunger without producing a destructive spark; secon l te house orincase the working parts in sue 'manner as to effectually protect themfrom the action of the weather and even allow the device to be submergedin water withoutresulting in deterioration; and,

third, to simplify the construction and effect economy in-manufacture.

Broadly speaking, the invention embodies a plunger having an insulatingmember in termediate soft iron end portions, a plurality of coils withinwhich the plunger is movable, and switch contacts so positioned withrespect to the plunger that as the latter moves in one .direction or theother the current is shunted first into one coil and cut out of theother in such manner that at no period will the circuit be broken andcause eXcessive sparking, and arcctilin'ear' reciprocating movement willbe imparted rapidly to said plunger.

In a practical embodiment of the invention, one of the coils is of lessresistance or possessed of a stronger magnetic field than the othercoil, for the purpose of precluding the two coils from exerting abalancing c'll'cct upon the plunger, thus resulting in the stronger coilhaving a greater pulling effect on'said plunger than the weaker coil andpreventing said plunger from coming to a dead stop between the coils.

lVhen embodied in a hell or audible signal, a spring striker ispositioned in the path of the plunger and in an operative relation tothe weaker of the two coils, so thatthe impact of the plunger againstthe striker will result in'a rebound of the plunger tending to give aninitial impulse thereto.

The-vibrator when used as a riveter or metal upsetter embodies astriking member Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1914.

Application filed November 14, 1912. Serial No. 731,328.

separate from the plunger and positioned in the path thereof, saidstriking head being cushioned by a spring. At the other end of itsstroke, the plunger contacts with a spring buffer, and thus thereciprocation of the plunger is cushioned in both directions and the twosprings operate on the plunger to give a rebound thereto.

be i nj uriously affected by moisture or water.

Other features of the invention and the advantages thereof will appearfrom the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated different practicalembodiments of the invention, but the constructions shown therein are.to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limitsof the invention.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the electrically operated vibratorembodying this invention, certain parts being shown-in longitudinalsection. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, partly in elevation, of thevibrating mechanism embodied in an audible signal such as a bell. Fig. 3is a longitudinal section, partly in elevation, illustrating thevibrating mechanism embodied in connection with parts to produce anelectrically operated riveter. i

A designates a plunger, herein shown as consisting of soft iron pieces aa and an insulating piece a positioned intermediate the soft "ironpieces a a and attached in any suitable way rigidly thereto, said partsa a a constituting a single unitary structure wherein the soft ironsections are 8 seed and electrically insulated from eah 0t 2 by theintermediate section a. The two soft iron I All parts of the vibratorare incased so that they will not pieces and the intermediate irisulating section are in axial alinement, and the several parts are unitedmechanically in any desired way.

A is reciprocable. Said coils are wound C designate coils within whichplungenupon the end portions of a spool or sleeve j composed preferablyof fiber or-equivalent material, said spool extending, lengthwisethrough the two coils. As shown, the sleeve is provided at its endportions with beads d, and with other heads d"intermediate the endsthereof, each coil being-positioned between one end head d and anintermediate head d, and the two intermediate heads being spaced withrespect to each other for,

the accommodation of-th'e contacts. Means are provided 103* insuringthe'frec and easy movement of plunger A within the coils; as shown, themetal sections of the plunger are provided with roller or ball bearings6 adapted for frictional contact with the walls of sleeve D. The rolleror ball bearings support the weight of the plunger within the sleeve Dand enable said plunger to travel easily within the coils.

F F designate one set of contacts, and G G another set of contacts, thetwo sets of contacts being positioned for electrical engagement withsections a a of the plunger, respectively. Any suitable form ofelectrical contact may be employed, but as shown, each contact consistsof a metal roller or ball which is seated in one end of a bushing 71attached to sleeve D. The contact is pressed into frictional engagementwith the plunger by a spring h seated at its outer end against a head orplug it which is screwed adjustably into the bushing, thereby exertingtension upon the contact. The plug is movable in the bushing foreffecting a variation in the tension of the spring, but the main purposeof the spring is to act upon the contact for securing good electricalengagement thereof with the metal part of the plunger.

Current is supplied to the coils by a feed wire H havin branchconnections h It with coils B From coil B extends a branch connection ito contact F, and in a similar way a branch conductor Leonnects one endof coil C to contact G. i he other contacts F G of the two sets areconnected by branch conductors i j witha common return wire I.

' With the plunger A toward the right, a s

shown in Fig. 1, contacts G G of one set are'in engagement withinsulated section a, of the plunger, Whereas contacts F F, arein'electrical engagement with metal section a of said plunger.-Aceordingly, current "flows from conductor H through coil B and thencethrough conductor 11 to contact F,

across the metal section a ofthe plunger into contact F and b returnconnection 2" through return wire to the source of supply. Coil B isthus energized and the mag netic field established thereby acts, onsection a of the plun r to move the latter to.- ward the left in Flg. 1.During this movement the plunger travels across contacts F F and G G,and as it completes its movement toward the lefit contacts F F are inengagement with insulated section a of the plunger, whereas contacts G Gmake electrical connection with the metal section a of the plunger justprior to the engagement of contacts F F with insulated section '0,

whereby the current is diverted from coil ]3 into coil C for the purposeof energizing the latter, the current flowing in the followingpath: fromconductor H through branch h, into coil. C, thence through branch con--tive to contacts G -G and F F.

nection to contact G, thence through metal sectlon a of the plunger"trough contact G, and thence through return connection j by eturnwire'l to the source of supply. The magnetic field of coil C attractssection a of the plunger to quickly move said plunger from left toright, said plunger thus moving in an opposite direction so as to shiftthe position of sections a o a rela- As the plunger moves from left toright contacts G G are in electrical engagement with section a,whereascontacts F F are in frictional engagement with insulated plunger section(1 until just before the plunger reaches the limit of its stroke towardthe right, at which time contacts F F are in electrical engagement withplunger section a prior to the frictional engagement of contacts G Gwith insulated plunger section (1. thus diverting the current from coilC and sending it through coil BI rom the foregoing description it isap-. parentitliat the current is switched from one coil to the othercoil, and vice verse, by the reciprocating movement of the plunger, andthe operation of switching the current alternately energizes the coilsfor the purpose of attracting said plunger in first one direction andthen the other,-the switching of the current from one coil to the otherbeing ..effected in such manner that the circuit is not broken, wherebyreciprocating movement is imparted to the plunger without' producing adestructive electric spark. To secure the foregoing results it isimportant that the contacts of the respective sets .should be spacedapart a distance 'less than the length 'of insulated section 'a of theplunger, or in other words, insulated section a of the plunger is not aslong as the distance between the two sets of ,contacts.F F and G G, asresult of which the contacts of one set are adaptedto engage with onemetal part of the plunger just prior tothe engagement of the contacts ofthe other set with the. insulated part. of the plunger when said plungeris moving in one direetion,'thereby diverting the current from one coilinto the other coil without interrupting the electric .circuit orproducing a destructive spark at the contacts. In this connectionattention is directed to the fact that the circuit is completed throughthe contacts of one set and through a metal section of the plun er, thecurrent flowing from the feed con notor through one coil, thence toone-contact of a set, thence. through a metal part of the plungerinto-the other contact of the same set, and back to the source of supplythrough the return connection.

It is preferred to employ coils of different magnetic intensity, and tothis end coil is of somewhat greater strength or capacity than coiLHThis result may be secured in various ways as by making coil C largerthan coil B. Should the plunger have a tendency to stop intermediate thecoils or come to a dead center, the flow of current through coil C willattract section a of the plunger so as to move said plunger toward theright, but when current isswitehed out of coil C andinto coil B then theplunger is attracted to move to the left. The plunger is reciprocatedrapidly by switching the current from one coil into the other due to 1the movement of the plunger itself, and this rapid reciprocation of theplunger may be utilized in various ways for operating suitablemechanism, examples of which are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively.

In Fig. 2 the vibrator is employed for actuating an audible alarm, thelatter being shown in-the form of a bell J supported on a post [a and sofashioned as to substantially incase the mechanism of the vibrator. The

:coils are inc-losed within an exterior casing 1 having heads or faceplates 1', and on these face plates are provided metal diaphragms whichare positioned in the path f the plunger at the respective ends thereof,said diaphragms serving to close the respective ends of the vibrator ina liquid tight manner. The diaphragms act, -also, as bellst-rikers forthe reason that they are positioned for contact with edge portion ofhell J. The strikers m may be provided with impact; pieces in composedof hard material for striking against the edge portion of the bell, butin the action of the vibrator the flexible diaphragms m impart a.rebound to the plunger when the latter strikes against said diaphragms,whereby the strikers impart the initial return impulse to the plunger. 7

\Vhcn the vibrator is embodied as a part of an electric riveter, shownin Fig. 3, the working parts are incased within a housing 0, the ends ofwhich are closed by heads 0. In the head at one end of the casing is anaperture in which is fitted a slidable stem 1, one end of whichprotrudes beyond the raising so as to carry a striking head p. The endof the stem within the casing is proided with a collar p, and around thestem is positioned a coiled spring or buffer P, one end of which isseated on head 0, the other end of-said spring being in the path ofcollar 7) at the inner end of the stem, whereby the spring P acts tocushion the movement of the plunger in one direction and the recoil ofthe spring acts on head 72 to press the stem inwardly so as to normallyretain the stem and striking head in operative relation to the plungerand in the p'ath thereof. The other end of the plungeris adapted tostrike against a spring Q positioned in the path of said plunger andseated against a head 0 at the end of the casefi'ects the rebound of theoverhanging dles RR, the former being loop-shaped'and attached firmly toone end of the casing, whereas the other handle R is secured firmly tothe casing intermediate its ends.

The electrical connections in the signal device of Fig. 2 and in theriveter of Fig. 3 are the same as heretofore described in connectionwith Fig. 1, and the plunger is given a rapid reciprocating movement byswitching the current alternately into the coils. The movement ofthe-plunger toward the left in Fig. 3 imparts'a blow to the strikinghead p for upsetting the metal of a rivet or other device, and after theblow is delivered spring P returns the striking head to its normalposition and imparts the lnltlill impulse to the plunger for moving itbackwardly. On the return stroke of the plunger spring'Q absorbs theshock due to the impact of the plunger against it and said plunger tostart it on its movement toward the striking head.

It is apparent that 'a rapid reciprocating movement in a rectilinearpath is imparted to the plunger without breaking the circuit andresulting in a spark, the mechanism employed being efficient and whollyautomatic. All the working partsof the vibrator may be housed or incasedto protect them from the accession of moisture, and, in fact; thevibrator is well adapted for use undcr conditions where'the signal, ofFig. 2 will either be exposed to the weather at all times or submergedin water.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An electrically operatedvibrator embodyin a plurality of coils, a plunger reeiproca le therein,and means controllable by the movement of the plunger for switchingcurrent through said coils alternately whereby movement is imparted tothe plunger, said plunger being normally in a closed circuit with saidCOllS and operating as a conductor in completing said electric circuit.

2. A vibrator embodying a plurality of coaxial coils, a plunger movablewithin the 1 magnetic fields of said coils, said plunger embodyingmagnetizable sections and a section of insulating material positionedintermediate said magnetizable sections, all of said sections beingrigidly connected and contacts connected in series with the coils andpositioned for engagement directly with the magnctizable and insulatingsections of said plunger whereby the movement of the plunger switchesthe current; alternately from one coil to the other, and vice versa.

3'. A vibrator embodying a plunger composed of soft iron sections and anintermediate section of insulating material, a plurality of coils withinwhiclrthe plunger is 1 reciprocable, contacts positioned for engagementwith the insulating and soft iron sections of said plunger, the lengthof said insulating plunger section being slightly less than the distancebetween the respective contacts, and electric connections wherebycurrent is adapted to flow through one coil and one soft iron section ofthe plunger alternately with the other coil and soft iron plungersection. l

4. In a vibrator, the combination of a plurality of .coils, a plungerhaving magnetizable sections, and an interposed insulating section, allof said sections being rigidly connected, and make and break contactscooperating with the respective magnetizablc sections of the plunger forswitching current into and out of said coils alternately, one or theother of the magnetizable sections of said plunger being at all times ina closed circuit with one or the other of said coils whereby saidplunger operates as a conductor in normally closing said electriccircuit.

5 5. A vibrator embodying a plurality of coils the magnetic fieldsofwhich are of unbalanced intensity, switch contacts in circuit with saidcoils, and a plunger composed of iron sections and an interposedinsulating section, all of said sections being rigidly connected, saidplunger being reciprocable within the magnetic fields of said coils andmovable relative to said switch contacts to serve the function of amoving switch member in controlling the flow of current through saidcoils, the iron sections of said plunger acting as conductors innormally closing the electric circuits through said contacts and coils.

I '6. A vibrator embodying aplurality of coils wound to produce magneticfields of unbalanced intensity, a plunger composed of magnetizable andinsulating materials rigidly connected to each other, said,plunger beingreciprocable withini said magnetic fields, and means operating inconjunction with the magnetizable materials of the plunger for divertingthe flow of current throu h the coilsalt-ernately so as to establish -te magnetic fields of alternately unbalanced in-' tensity.

7. In a vibrator, the combination of a plurality of coils, a plungerembodying magnet-izable sections and a section of insulating materialbetween said magnet-izable sections,

and relatively stationary means cooperating with said plunger, saidrelatively stationary means being controllable by the movement of theplunger for switching an electric curd rent into and out of said coils,wh'ereby reciprocating motion is imparted to-s'ai plunger.

B A vibrator embodying a lurality of 011s the magnetic fields of w ichare of unbalanced strength, anda solenoid plunger reciprocable withinsaid magnetic fields, said plunger being operable as a switch member innormally closing the electric circuit through the coils and incontrolling the flow of current through said coils the unbalancedmagnetic fields of which preclude the dead centering of said plungerunder the influence of said coils.

9. A vibrator embodying aplurality of coilslthe magnetic fields of whichare of unbalanced intensity, a reciprocable plunger composed ofmagnetizable and insulating sect-ions, all of which are rigidlyconnected, said plunger being operable within said magnetic fields, andmeans contacting with the magnetizable plunger sections whereby saidplunger serves the purpose of a current carrying switch in shuntingcurrent through said coils.

10. In a vibrator, the combination of a plurality of coaxiallypositioned coils, a plurality of switch contacts in circuit with saidcoils, and a plunger embodying insuii. lating material and magnetiza'blesections separated by said insulating material, said plunger being movzble relative to the switch contacts for one magnetizable section thereofto engage with one contact prior to the disengagement of the othermagnetizable section from the other contact so that the 5 movement ofsaid plunger switches an electric current into and out of said coilsalternately.

11. In a vibrator, the combination of a plunger embodying soft ironsections and 00 an interposed insulating section, a plurality of coils,and switch contacts in circuit with said coils, said switch contactsbeing spaced apart for a distance less than the length of the insulatingplunger section, said plun- 5 ger cooperating with the switch contactsand performing the function of a moving switch member in controllingthefflow of current through said coils.

12. In a vibrator, the combination of a 10 plurality of coils, and aplunger movable in the magnetic fields of said coils and operating tonormally close an electric circuitthrough one or the other of saidcoils, said plunger being adapted by its reciprocating 1 5 movement toimpart motion to a mechanical translating device.

13. In a vibrator, the combinationof a plurality of coils, and a plungermovable in the magnetic fields of the coils and elecno tricallyconnected with said coils to maintain at all times a. closed electriccircuit through one or the other of said coils, said plunger operatingas a movable switch member in diverting current alternately from onecoil into the other without interrupting the main circuit.

14. In a vibrator, the combination of a plurality of coils, and aplunger movable in the magnetic fields of the coils and elec- 139'trically connected with said coils to maintain at all times a closedelectric circuit through one or the other of said coils, said plungeroperating as a movable switch member in diverting current alternatelyfrom one coil into the other terrupting the main circuit, and incasingmeans for said coil and plunger, said incasing means including aflexible member positioned in the path of said plunger and adapted to bemechanically operated thereby.

15. In a vibrator, the combination of a coil, a plunger composed ofinsulated magnetizable sections and movable in the field Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the withoutinof said coil, and current switching devices in circuit with the coiland in electrical contact With one or the other of the magnetizablesections of said plunger for normally closing the electric circuitthrough said plunger and the coi In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN L. DINSMOOR.

Witnesses:

H. I. BERNHARD, M. C. RODRIGUEZ.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington. D. G."

